What Now?
by findyourlight
Summary: After defeating Reign and the witches, Kara and Mon-El discuss the future. (An alternate ending to season 3.)


***chuckles nervously* what do you mean mon-el left the show? what? that's definitely not how I remember it happening.**

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 **Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Supergirl belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

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Mon-El noticed her immediately, standing on the balcony overlooking the city as she's done so many times before. He approached slowly, unable to take his eyes off of her. "Well, you did it," he said causing her to turn around and he moved closer. "Just like a Greek myth, you went down to the underworld and slayed the three-headed monster and saved Persephone."

A crinkle formed between her brows, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Uh, I think in the myth, Persephone eats pomegranate seeds and is confined to the realm of Hades forever."

"Yeah, well, that just strengthens my point, because the Greek gods have nothing on you," he told her simply.

Her smile grew at his words, "I couldn't have done it without you."

Mon-El huffed a laugh and shook his head, leaning his elbow on the ledge, "No, that's not true. This, uh, this victory was yours. It was flawless." He met her gaze with nothing but admiration, admiration for who she was as a hero, the hero that inspired him. When she turned away, face scrunched up slightly, he knew something was wrong. He'd seen that face so many times before. "What's on your mind?"

Tilting her head back towards him, Kara gave a weak attempt at a smile before it slipped off her face. She thought over her words carefully, not knowing how to express exactly what she was feeling. "Before we went to Argo, I just had this thought that I could be Kara Zor-El, ordinary citizen," a wide smile grew at the thought and a chuckle bubbled past her lips. "That I would feel like I was home. But when we were fighting Reign and the witches, I had this moment, this realization," her voice hitched, the words getting caught in her throat, "that Argo City's not my home anymore. National City is. _Earth_ is. And my mission is to protect it. I mean, my whole life is here."

"Yeah," he agreed with a mod, glancing down.

"Messy, complex. Balancing Kara and being a hero, that's," she exhaled, almost relieved to finally be accepting who she is and saying it out loud to another person, "that's who I am."

Mon-El stared at her for a few moments, building up the courage to voice his next thoughts. Fear consumed him, irrational as it may be, and he breathed in slowly through his nose. "I have loved fighting by your side. Being there through all of it, the ups, the downs, the particularly tough days. It's been amazing, Kara."

Something in the tone of his voice made her brows furrow, the infamous crinkle appearing as she took a step closer, fingers gently brushing against his where they rested on the balcony ledge. Kara tilted her head forward in encouragement for him to continue, her hair falling forward and framing her face.

He paused for a second, taken aback by just how beautiful she is. Seven years and she's just as he remembered, if not more breathtaking. "It would mean the world to me to stay here, in this time. I thought that the future was where I needed to be; that it was my home. But it's not, and I'm not sure it ever was."

Kara breathed in sharply through her teeth, "Mon…"

"Just… Let me finish?" At her slight nod, he continued, "I spoke with Imra, I spoke with the Legion… They don't need me anymore. The future is safe from The Blight and the world has enough heroes, all of them fighting in your image. That's why I started the Legion in the first place. It wasn't just because of how inspiring you are as a hero, but because I needed… I needed a way to remember you. And now I'm back and it's made me realize how much of a front I was putting up. I care about Imra and Brainy and the Legion so much, but you… You all, here, at the DEO… You're my family."

He took in another deep breath, flicking his eyes up to finally meet her imploring gaze. Mon-El couldn't help but let out a dreamy sigh. _Comets._ "It would mean the world to me if I could stay here. Would you mind having a sidekick?" he asked with a crooked smile, dimples just barely visible under his beard.

Kara huffed a laugh at his joke, smiling with a shake of her head before meeting his eyes, face softening. As she took another step forward, her hand slid up from his to rest on his forearm. "I would love it if you stayed; we all would. But you wouldn't be my sidekick, Mon-El. As hard as the last months have been after sending you away, I don't regret it. It gave you the opportunity to become the man I always knew you were destined to be. The man that I admire so much." Lifting her hand, she placed her palm against his cheek, breathing out softly as her thumb grazed over his bottom lip. She felt the air between them thicken and his breath catch in his throat when her tongue poked out to wet her lips. "The man that I love. A hero,"she confessed, voice nearly a whisper, and it felt so damn good to finally say. It felt like a 40-ton semi-truck had been lifted off of her shoulders, which wasn't even an exaggeration considering she actually knew what that felt like.

"Kara," he breathed out and lifted a hand to brush the hair out of her face and behind her ear, "I never stopped loving you."

Not needing to say or hear anything else, Kara closed her eyes and erased the remaining distance between them. Everything around them froze, time standing still as her lips connecting with his for the first time in what felt like years (and was _actually_ years for him). It felt like salvation, like she could finally breathe again. It felt like waking up.

After a few seconds, or minutes, or hours, the need for air became too much and the two heroes separated. They stayed close, Mon-El's arms circled around her waist and her own around his neck, her fingers carding through the hair at the nape of his neck. Eyes still closed, he rests his forehead against hers, "So what now?"

A noise in the distance makes her ear twitch and Kara pulls back slightly, turning her head to look out over the city once again. She peers back at him again with an arched brow and a wide grin, his own growing to match her. "Now we go save the world."


End file.
